[Thus] anyone who touches something that has been under [the man with a discharge] shall be unclean until evening. One who lifts [such an object] must immerse both his clothing and his body, and [then] remain unclean until evening.

If anyone touches a man with a discharge who has not immersed [even] his hands in a mikvah, then [that person] must immerse his clothing and his body in a mikvah, and [then] remain unclean until evening.

When a woman has a discharge, [it can consist] of [any] blood that emerges from her body. For seven days she is then [ritually unclean] because of her menstruation, and anyone touching her shall be unclean until evening.

If a woman has a discharge of blood for a number of days when it is not time for her menstrual period, or if she has such a discharge right after her period, then as long as she has this discharge she is unclean, just as she is when she has her period.

[Thus], as long as she has the discharge, any bed upon which she lies shall have the same status as it has while she is menstruating. Similarly, any article upon which she sits shall be unclean, just as it is unclean when she is menstruating.

dribbles With clear liquid (Rashi), like saliva (Saadia), baba in Spanish (Radak, Sherashim). It can have the appearance of the egg white of a sterile (Niddah 35b, Rashi ad loc.; cf. Chullin 140b) or spoiled (Arukh s.v. Zamar) egg, in contrast with semen, which has the consistency of fresh egg white. It can also be a pus-like discharge, resembling the liquid from barley dough (Niddah 35b) or soft barley batter (Yad, MeChuserey Kapparah 2:1).

In order to render the man unclean, the discharge must continue running long enough for the man to immerse and then towel himself off (Zavim 1:4, Yad, Mechuserey Kapparah 2:10). If he discharges for a shorter time than this, then in order to become unclean, he must experience a second discharge on the same or the next day (Zavim 1:1, 1:3; Yad, Mechuserey Kapparah 2:6,8). He is, however, unclean to the same degree as one who experienced a seminal emission.

stuck (Rashbam). This teaches that the discharge renders the man unclean no matter how little there is, even if there is not enough to run, but only to adhere to the organ (Sifra; Yad, Mechuserey Kapparah 2:9; Rambam on Zavim 1:4).

According to others, this teaches that a thick discharge renders the man unclean just like a thin one (Radak, Sherashim; cf. Saadia). Some say that if the discharge stops up the organ, it also renders the man unclean (Rashi; cf. Niddah 43b; Ibn Janach).

bed Literally, 'something upon which he lies', mishkav in Hebrew (see Rambam on Kelim 1:3).

even (Sifra; Yad, Mikvaoth 1:2). As long as the man who had the discharge does not immerse, he remains unclean, even many years later (Sifra). This is true of all other cases of defilement as well. See Leviticus 15:13. The Torah specifies that even the person's hands must be immersed to teach that if any part of the body, even a hand, is not totally immersed, the entire person remains unclean (cf. Ralbag). He must also wash his hands and the rest of his body before immersing (Rashbam).

inside (cf. Sifra). See Leviticus 11:33. If he moves the vessel, it becomes unclean even if he touches it only on the outside (Ibid.; Yad, Mishkav 8:3; see Rambam on Kelim 1:2).

running spring water Literally, 'living water' (Yad, Mikvaoth 1:5; see Rambam on Mikvaoth 1:8). Spring water can be brought from a distance through a canal (cf. Parah 8:11; Yad, Parah Adumah 6:16).

his entire body This is a general rule, see Leviticus 15:11. This also teaches that the mikvah must be large enough for him to immerse his entire body, namely 40 sa'ah or 80 gallons of water (Eruvin 4b). See Exodus 29:4.

if they defile... The laws of purity thus deal with the Tabernacle and the Holy Temple. That is why today, when the Temple no longer stands, we are not careful regarding these rules. However, it is still forbidden to enter the area of the Temple Mount if one is ritually unclean. (Shaarey Teshuvah, Orach Chaim 561:1; cf. Teshuvoth Radbaz 691).

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